Drivers won't like this.

The heat is back, and so is €2 a litre. It's Monday, 27 July. Thirty-four degrees. Air quality: 42 (Fair). Here's what you need to know.

🗞️ TOP STORY

FUEL IS EXPECTED TO CROSS €2 A LITRE THIS WEEK

From today, both petrol and diesel are forecast to break the €2 mark. According to the Automóvel Clube de Portugal (ACP), diesel is expected to rise by 9 cents to an average of €2.058 per litre. Petrol is expected to rise by 3 cents to €2.000. If confirmed, it will be the first time both fuels have sat above €2 simultaneously this year.

The cause is the same one that has been pushing prices up for months: the war in the Middle East and the ongoing disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles roughly 20% of global oil and gas trade. International crude prices have climbed steadily since the escalation in hostilities earlier this year, and the latest spike follows the collapse of a provisional ceasefire.

The political backdrop makes it worse. The opposition has accused the government of profiting from the rises, arguing that higher pump prices generate higher VAT and fuel tax (ISP) revenue without any of it being returned to drivers. The government promised earlier this year to apply an extraordinary temporary reduction in the ISP whenever the weekly increase exceeded 10 cents, but it is not clear whether this week's rise triggers that mechanism. Finance Minister Miranda Sarmento has repeatedly refused to cut the VAT rate on fuel, despite growing pressure from parliament and consumer groups.

Meanwhile, the Energy Minister, Maria Graça Carvalho, has taken a different line. She sent a formal request to the energy regulator ERSE (Entidade Reguladora dos Serviços Energéticos) asking for an investigation into why falls in international oil prices are consistently slow to appear at Portuguese pumps. The request asked for a detailed study of the past two years, due within 20 days. The implication is clear: someone in the supply chain is absorbing the savings before they reach the consumer.

What this means for you: if you drive, your next full tank will cost roughly €100 for a 50-litre fill. That is up from about €85 at the start of the summer. For anyone commuting by car rather than using the Navegante pass (€30 per month within Lisbon, €40 for the wider metropolitan area), the cost gap between driving and public transport is widening fast.

Bottom line: fuel is forecast to cross €2 a litre this week. The government is collecting more in tax, the regulator has been asked to investigate the supply chain, and nobody is cutting VAT. The ERSE investigation is due within 20 days. Until then, expect €2 at the pump.

⚡ QUICK HITS

INEM first responders are threatening strike action through August. The National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), which operates Portugal's 112 emergency response system, faces a new round of industrial action from staff demanding better pay and career conditions. The timing is the concern: August is peak fire season, peak tourist arrivals, and the period when the health system is already stretched by staff holidays. INEM's last major strike, in late 2024, led to 12 deaths during the disruptions that triggered formal investigations into delayed emergency response. On the worst day, the dispatch centre answered just 2,510 of 7,326 calls. If you are in Portugal through August, keep the following in mind: 112 remains the emergency number, do not hang up if the line is on hold, and in a genuine emergency where INEM is unresponsive, contact your nearest fire station (bombeiros) directly.

Portugal's blood reserves are running low and expats can help. The Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (IPST) has issued a summer appeal, warning that stocks of A+, A-, O+ and O- blood types are below desirable levels. The drop happens every July and August as regular donors go on holiday, but hospital demand stays the same. Any resident aged 18 or older, weighing more than 50 kilograms and in good health can donate, regardless of nationality. You do not need to know your blood type. The process takes about 30 minutes and can be scheduled at ipst.pt.

Portugal's passport is the 5th most powerful in the world. The July 2026 Henley Passport Index ranks Portugal at number 5 globally, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 185 destinations. It shares the spot with Austria, Greece, Malta and Switzerland. Singapore leads with 192, followed by Japan, South Korea and the UAE at 188. The UK sits one rung below Portugal at 6th with 184 destinations. For anyone holding or working toward Portuguese citizenship, the ranking puts a concrete number on what that passport is worth.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

CRUSH DOUGHNUTS (SÃO SEBASTIÃO)

Handmade American doughnuts and specialty coffee at Avenida António Augusto de Aguiar 140E, a short walk from the Gulbenkian. They also have a stall inside Time Out Market. The doughnuts are oversized, made fresh daily and filled generously enough that one is a meal. The crème brûlée is the signature, with a caramelised custard filling and a torched sugar top, and the pistachio and passionfruit get named almost as often in reviews. They also serve proper specialty coffee, not an afterthought.

It holds a 4.5 on Google reviews from nearly 1,700 reviews and the reviews are remarkably consistent: the doughnuts are worth the price, the coffee is good, the staff are friendly. Reckon on about €5 to €8 for a doughnut and a coffee. Hours vary by location, generally opening around 10am.

Worth knowing before you go, the main shop has outdoor seating but sits on a busy road, so it is better for a quick stop than a long sit.

→ See the menu and find them here ←

Insider tip: this sounds like common sense for a doughnut shop, but go before noon. The more popular flavours sell out by early afternoon, and turning up at 5pm to find no crème brûlée is a lesson you only learn once.

📅 WHAT'S ON

See you tomorrow morning.

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